Opportunistic Earthquakes edge Union

Soccer Betting Lines

07/10/2010 - Chester, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Earthquakes earned an opportunistic 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer action at PPL Park on Saturday evening.

The win was made possible because of a number of second-half saves by 'Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch, who finished with seven in the game.

San Jose (6-4-4) scored both its goals in stoppage time, the first by Cornell Glen as the first half was winding down, and the second by Arturo Alvarez in the closing minutes of the game.

Philadelphia's Fred opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he ran onto a ball that was flicked into the area by Danny Mwanga. Fred then split defenders Ike Opara and Jason Hernandez and fired just under Busch's arm for the 1-0 advantage in the 15th minute.

The Union, who dominated most of the possession in the game, just missed going up 2-0 a minute later when Andrew Jacobson ripped a long-range shot off the post.

San Jose's Joey Gjertsen hit the crossbar with a dipping, long-range shot in the 42nd minute before Glen scored the equalizer.

San Jose striker Chris Wondolowski ran onto a long ball played from the back on the right side and quickly played a ball into the Philadelphia penalty area to Glen, who one-timed the shot just inside the far post, past goalkeeper Chris Seitz.

Busch made a series of strong saves in the second half to keep his team level, the first being in the first minute after the break when Mwanga broke in alone on a breakaway. The steady goalkeeper then came out and knocked the attempt away.

Busch got the best of Mwanga again in the 73rd minute when the rookie attacker pounced on a loose ball in the area after a corner kick.

Busch made a couple more game-saving stops in the final 10 minutes on Sebastien Le Toux before Alvarez's winner.

With the Union pressing forward aiming for the full points, Alvarez caught them on a counter attack, scooping up the ball at the center line and driving all the way in on Seitz. Alvarez then deked past a defender and slotted the shot past Seitz for his third goal of the season.

Philadelphia (3-8-2) will aim to rebound when it hosts Toronto FC on Saturday, while the 'Quakes play at Los Angeles on July 22 in their next MLS fixture.

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SPORTS BETTING - Tennis is an underrated and under-utilized bettors' sport.

Ten years ago, at just about this time, I called Alan Boston in Vegas and left him a voicemail that went something like this (abridged version): "Hey Alan, Chad Millman from ESPN The Magazine calling. I want to do a book about wise guys, you in?"

A couple weeks later I got a message back (abridged version): "I don't know, maybe," Boston said. "Call me and we'll talk about it. But not later today. I got $1,000 on Andre Agassi to win the French Open at 40-1, and he's in the finals."

Here's what happened next (abridged version): Agassi won his tourney. Boston won his $40,000. I wrote sportsbook.

In the ten years since, how much has been wagered on the big-time tennis events? Put it this way: The Nevada Gaming Commission doesn't even track the number year by year because it's so small.

"Tennis makes up about one-tenth of one percent of our take," says Lucky's bookmaking boss Jimmy Vaccaro. "The last big golf major we probably had $100,000 worth of bets. In tennis, we might have written two big tickets."

Tennis' lack of popularity amongst the American bettoratti is no surprise, really. For starters, the biggest sports betting holidays -- the Super Bowl, the NCAA tourney -- are must see TV. People, at least the degenerates I know, plan vacations around watching those events in Vegas sports books.

But Wimbledon? Doesn't exactly reel in the whales. "Seriously, it's the nuts as an event," says Boston. "But who even knows when it's on?"

Here's another reason that helps explain why golf gets traction, something I call "The Bubbe Theory." My Bubbe is pushing 95 and has cataracts so bad that, to her, even the most crystalline Chicago day is mostly cloudy. But she still listens to the Cubs games, and she still calls me in a fit if she disagrees with something Rick Telander writes in the Chicago Sun Times. She's a sports fan. If she doesn't know you, you're just filling a niche. And niche players, even historically good ones like Roger and Raf, don't drive betting volume. Only the highest profile names attract square money, which inflates wagering totals like a shot of saline to the lips. Bubbe, and the public, loved Agassi, tennis' last cross-the-rubicon, mainstream draw. She also has a crush on Tiger. She's given me standing orders to put a sawbuck on the big cat whenever I walk through a sports book (or mistakenly tap into one via my Internet machine.) That explains why the Masters is getting $100K in action at some books while the four tennis majors might not get that combined this year.

This isn't a case of tennis being a difficult sport to bet. In fact, in Europe, it's probably the second most popular sport for gambling after soccer. Granted, as the WSJ football betting last week and The Mag's Shaun Assael examined in even greater depth last year, that might be because gamblers across the pond see it as an easy game to fix. But it could also be because, over there it holds the kind of sway the big two do over here.

Street corners in Spain are peppered with public courts and kids doing their best Raffy impressions. In some war torn parts of Eastern Europe poverty-stricken kids view tennis as an escape route, like football or basketball here. A couple years ago The Mag's Lindsay Berra wrote a great piece about Belgrade's Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. They learned the game as kids while bombs were raining down on their homeland. They practiced in drained swimming pools. Not exactly Nick Bolletierri conditions.

In the United States, casual fans think tennis is played four times a year. But on the tightly packed European continent, national interest in homegrown talent runs deep every weekend. Of the ATP's current top 20 players, only two, tennis betting and James Blake, are American. Fourteen are from Europe, representing six different countries.

No wonder fans from Lisbon to Bhudapest get jacked up for the net game, whether it's Wimbledon or a low-level tourney like the Estoril Open in Portugal (congrats to Spain's Albert Montanes for winning that one, btw). Chances are good that someone representing their flag will not only be playing, but have a shot at winning.

And that's all any bettor can ask for.

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